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The Gerro
Overview: The Gerro live in the Vradune Desert which is south of the mountain range Gerro’s Spine. The Gerro are war-like reptiles and trust the metal of their sword. They used to fight constantly for land because their empire was growing at an amazing rate, but their empire was pushed back and reduced to rubble by the humans. There are a few clans and villages throughout the desert but their capital is Gergarn and it sits atop a mesa and sand flows from the capital, down to the land below. The Gerro call this wonder the ørken veggen, which is translated as desert wall to the humans. ' Topography: The Vradune desert is located south of the main mountain range, Gerro’s Spine, which separates North Khantros from South Khantros. The Gerro’s Spine is mined for metals that are used for their weapons and armour. This metal can only be found where Gerro’s Spine meets the desert. That is why they once had a massive empire. They recently found out that there is a new metal on the island of Fifren. This metal can absorb magic and disperse it throughout the metal protecting the user from magic. The metal can also deflect magic blasts back at the thrower. The Gerro want this metal just encase the magic using humans want to end their peace treaty and start a war again. Their capital Gergarn sits atop a large mesa and sand flows from the capital down to the land below. This is because their capital rest upon a well of magic. Gergarn is located in the west of the Vradune Desert along the coast. Many creatures roam the Vradune dessert. There are large Sand Snakes by the name of ørkenslange, which translates as desert serpent to the humans. These creatures can grow up to 300 feet long and live in burrows and caves all over the desert. Some Gerro believe that all those caves lead to their Queen’s lair which is hidden deep within Gerro’s Spine. Legend speaks that the Sand Warrior (Gerro’s first chief) once tamed one of these beasts and rode him in the battlefield and that is how the Gerro’s empire expanded from the vast desert of Vradune, to the rich forests of Inan. Mammut Villsvin rittle the land also; the humans refer to them as Mammoth Boar. These creatures grow to the size of regular mammoths, but look more like a boar. Legends goes that the humans cursed the Gerro long ago by breeding a mammoth with a boar for their own uses in war, but they could not contain or control the few they had, and thus they escaped to the desert and have survived for hundreds of years. They often eat and destroy the very few crops the Gerro can grow. They are often hunted for their tusks and skin which can be used for many things in the Gerro culture.There is only one creature of the desert that can fly and that is because the død skygge rule the sky. The død skygge soar high above the desert and Gerro’s Spine waiting to find it’s prey and attack. The exact translation is unknown but the humans refer to them as the Death Shadow, because once you see the shadow of a død skygge, it is too late for you. For some reason if these pterodactyl like creatures are hungry, they will kill everything their size that they see and consume it until they are satisfied and no longer hungry. ' '''History:' The Gerro believe that the world was created by the Primal Gods themselves, and that only then did they place the races of Khantros on it. Soon after, the reptile creatures traveled over the mountains to the south to find lands that were comfortable in temperature. They eventually started to organize themselves into communities, and then villages, and eventually they were unified as one nation with one ruler. Since they are reptiles, they give birth to eggs and many of them. Eventually the dessert could not contain the Gerro as their empire grew and they were forced to push to the lands of the east for room. While pushing east, they ran right into the humans and that is when the War of Tears begun. The Gerro wanted the rich soil of the Shagai plains, so the Gerro started a war against the humans which was the first war in Khantros history. They humans began to experiment more with the power of magic that was bestowed upon them by the Primal Gods and use that magic to kill and destroy the Gerro race. Their spells became more deadly with every battle where eventually the human mages were casting a spell to destroy all of the Gerro race when the Primal Gods were forced to intervene causing a massive explosion. The Primal Gods realized that magic was too much for the humans and they took it away from them. The Gerro marched over the humans with their weapons crafted by the iron from Gerro’s Spine and won the war. The Gerro now controlled the Shagai plains. The Primal Gods then had the Gerro look over and watch the humans to make sure they would not use the power of magic for evil ever again. The humans were pushed further and further east as years went by and the humans remained slaves to the Gerro and nothing could compare to the might of the Gerro for 500 years. The humans tried to rebel multiple times during those years but they were always out numbered. Many humans escaped their homes and moved to the far west above the empire of the Gerro, or south to the island of Idoth where a new religion sprouted and seven New Gods were born. As soon as the word hit the Gerro empire, they sailed to the island to find hundreds of humans ready for war once again. Not a single Gerro ship was spared that day. Soon word hit the mainland where the rest of the humans grabbed their weapons and soon rebellions and raids were happening all over the Gerro empire. After 15 years of constant war, the Primal Gods were forced to intervene once again between the Gerro and the Humans and they gave the Gerro the power of magic, but only to be used in self-defence and for travel. With the power of the New Gods, the humans marched into the Gerro territory where the final battle of the war occurred; The battle of the Red Spring. The Primal and New Gods intervened once again and forced the magic mages from both sides to sign a peace treaty which ended the War or Pantheons. The humans regained their territory back that they lost during the War of Tears and the Gerro empire was left in shambles. To add insult to injury, the Gerro Emperor was assassinated by one of his son’s which caused a civil war to erupt. Many things changed during this civil war such as the social structure and how the government was run. ' Culture: The Gerro idolize and pray to the Primal gods. During battle they pray to Xebor, The Primal God of Death, for the deserved honor after death, a painfree afterlife, and proper funeral rites during wars. Because the Gerro are very materialistic by nature, they have a massive sand sculpture of Xebor in the desert. It has worn down and is not visited as much as it used to since they lost the War of Pantheons. After a Gerro trains in combat for years, and completes the three tasks that the Chief gives them, the chief will finally label that Gerro a Warrior. Once a Gerro Obtains his new cloak/tunic, he must travel to the shrine of Xebor and be blessed by the sands of honor to truly become a Gerro warrior. The chief of the Gerro must pray to Mearus, the God of Balance. Praying gives the chief a level head and a logical understanding to make important decisions about the Gerro race and community. They don't pray to Beione, the Goddess of Life, like they pray to the others because they are bitter about the War of Tears and wonder why Beione did not help their race during the Gerro’s time of need. In the past they prayed to her for plentiful harvests and crops, good health and healing, and the woman’s ability to lay multiple eggs during reproduction, but recently they have began praying to her again because the Mammut Villsvin have been destroying their crops, and they need the strength and health to fight and defend their harvests. The Gerro believe strongly in the power of themselves. The humans make fun of them saying that the Gerro are so barbaric and uncivilized, that their only friend is the tip of their chosen weapon. The Gerro trust and respect their weapon. The most shameful way to die as a Gerro is to be killed with your own weapon by the hands of the enemy. It is not a positive time for the Gerro. They are focussed on raising up their empire to what it once was. The only fun that they have is the Vradune experience where the Gerro compete during five days to hunt and kill the biggest Mammut Villsvin. Only the new Gerro Warriors of that hunting year are allowed to participate and the winner becomes the leader of the new unit. The Gerro use leather cloth from the creatures they kill but the Warriors wear a cloak which is dyed to a color representing their rank as a warrior. They build all of their structures out of stone and mud, and they use sandstone for the more important buildings. Their architecture is very low quality and they do not build complex buildings or structures. They keep it simple which makes building structures quick and easy. Social Structure: The Gerro have a social structure similar to the Native Americans. There used to be one leader in charge of the whole race but since the civil war, the social structure has changed. On top are the Tribes or Clans. There used to be multiple tribes of the desert but they are now forgotten due to the Humans and the War of Pantheons. Chiefs are the leaders in charge of the tribes and make all the decisions. Usually there are two leaders, One that leads during times of peace, and the other one leads during times of war. So they have a materialistic leader, and then a peaceful leader. Decisions to go to war are mutually decided upon between the two leaders. Under them are the Gerro that are labeled as Warriors and they are respected in order of their rank. Under the Warriors are merchants and the scholars that are fluent in the power of magic, which are very few in the Gerro race because they can only use those magic powers for self-defence, hince the sand falls around the capital; and under them are the farmers, builders, and blacksmiths (everything blue color related). During a time of peace, the warriors are the law enforcement. Rarely are there crimes within the capital, but there are Gerro raiders from the desert that have separated from the capital that steal anything they can find. The economy is controlled by the merchants who sell goods such as food, weapons, and clothing but the chiefs do tax to pay the warriors and maintain the capital. ' '''Weapons of War:' As a Garro Warrior, your rank determines where you stand in the social structure and how much respect you have earned. Rank is everything to a Gerro Warrior. Each warrior gets to choose their own weapons. Usually they will use swords, daggers, spears and bows, and they use magic for self-defence, and for traveling only. They respect the Primal gods so they follow that law of the use of magic. Their swords are crafted with the tusks of the Mammut Villsvin for the handle and iron from the mine of Gerro’s Spine for the blade. Recently a new metal has been discovered on the island of Frifen that is lighter and can be used to deflect magic charges. A quick way to traverse the vast desert is by their sandships. They use their magic to move the sand under their small ships to move across the desert; this is a relatively new advancement in technology for the race. The Gerro fight in pods ranging from a squad of five members, to a pod of a hundred. Their squad and pod size used to be much greater before they lost the War of Pantheons. They have a pod leader who tells them what to do and where to go, and the leaders of other pods communicate with signals. For an example, stay is when the leader of one pod spins and holds his spear horizontally. above his head. They have many signals, usually shown by their height, position and rotation of the leader’s weapon. The War-time leader of the Gerro usually is with the main army, (which is when many pods commune together) and gives orders to the pod leaders who then relay the message to their pod warriors. The rank of a warrior is determined by how many enemies he has killed during a time of war, and how many and the size of the animals and creatures he has hunted and killed during a time of peace. The Gerro keep track of their kills and have to report to their pod leader for the exact numbers so their rank can be changed with a certain amount of kills.